Helen Nesadurai

I am currently Professor of International Political Economy at Monash University Malaysia in the School of Arts and Social Sciences. Originally trained in biochemistry at Universiti Malaya, I switched fields to the social sciences to pursue my interests in development and world politics. I hold an MSc in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick. I spent fifteen years in policy research with the Malaysian think-tank, the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, before moving to academia, first to what is now the Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and then to Monash University Malaysia in 2006. My research is located at the intersection of International Relations (IR) and International Political Economy (IPE), spanning the study of both regional and transnational governance architectures and mechanisms.

Among my several external roles include serving two terms for a total of eight years on the Advisory Committee of the Belgium-based UNU-Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) a research and training institute of the United Nations University. I currently serve on the Advisory Board of the Better Governance and Policy research priority area of Monash University and as senior scholar of the Graduate Research and Development Network on Asian Security (GRADNAS) at the Australian National University. I am also a member of the editorial boards of several academic journals and academic publishers, and served as Chief Editor (with Jeffrey Wilson) of the journal Contemporary Politics. I have consulted for the ASEAN Secretariat and the Asian Development Bank.

Research interests

From an original interest in regional integration, governance, and state-based institutional architectures in Southeast Asia/ASEAN and the Asia Pacific, I expanded my work to study non-state modes of transnational governance and their intersection with state authority in this region. My current research continues this work on the broad theme of “who governs and how”. I am especially interested in the encounter between the global governance architecture – which comprises the actors (“who”) plus the instruments, mechanisms, and norms (“how”) – and the targets of these global governance frameworks as they unfold in the Global South. By drawing on cases involving Southeast Asian states and regional institutions, my aim is to understand the ways in which the intersection of global and national/regional governance impacts on how development, rights and sustainability are practised nationally, regionally and globally. I am currently studying zero-deforestation norms and practices in global and regional governance.

Several external and internal funding sources have supported these projects: the East Asian Development Network (EADN), International Studies Association's (ISA) Catalytic Workshop Grant, Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Monash-Warwick Strategic Alliance as well as internal funding from Monash University's Faculty of Arts and Monash University Malaysia's School of Arts and Social Sciences.

Supervision interests

Potential areas of supervision include the study of the politics and political economy of development, regionalism, and international and transnational governance. Areas of focus include Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific.

Monash teaching commitment

My teaching expertise covers International Political Economy, International Relations, Development and Global Governance. I teach into the Global Studies major at Monash University Malaysia, serving as coordinator of the major, and as chief examiner and unit coordinator of the following Global Studies units:

• International Relations (Level 3)
• Introduction to Global Studies (Level 1)
• Readings in Social, Political and Cultural Theory (Honours, Level 4)

Previously, I served as unit coordinator and chief examiner for:

• Governing the Global Economy: Stability, Efficiency, Justice (Level 3)
• Politics of Development (Levels 2/3)
• Contemporary Worlds 1 (Level 1)
• Introduction to World Politics and History (Level 1)
• Transformation from Above: Globalisation and the State (Level 1)

I have led the following mandated course reviews: the Bachelor of Communication undergraduate degree programme in 2011/2012 and the PhD graduate research programme in 2015/2016, which led to their re-accreditation by Monash University and the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

University Service

I have served Monash University Malaysia in several leadership roles:

• Head of School, School of Arts and Social Sciences (2018-2020)
• Deputy Head of School (Research), School of Arts and Social Sciences (2016-2017)
• Deputy Head of School (Education), School of Arts and Social Sciences (2011-2013)